On August 27, 2014, Paraguay took a huge step forward in promoting the rights of domestic violence survivors when they released Lucia Sandoval from prison. Sandoval had been in jail for over three years on the charge of homicide after she defended herself against an abusive husband.

Amnesty International Paraguay worked with other local human rights groups to advocate for her release. Finally, at the end of August, Lucia was absolved of all guilt in the case. Rosalie Vega, Executive Director of Amnesty International Paraguay said that the ruling gave a positive signal to women that look for protection against their abuses.

Lucia’s trial centered on an incident in February 2011 when she informed her husband that she had filed a complaint in court and received a medida de protección, similar to a restraining order, which required him to leave their home.

In Sandoal’s testimony, she noted that her husband reacted violently and threatened her with a gun, stating her concerned that no one would be able to act against him. Trying to escape, Lucia relayed that they became involved in a physical scuffle and the gun went off, which ended her husband’s life. Since that fateful day in February, Lucia was placed in jail, where she remained, unable to see her two sons who are both minors.

Domestic violence continues to be a major issue in Paraguay. While there is a law against domestic violence that was passed in 2000, it does not comprehensively address the problem, not does it allow for a coordinated and coherent system in the country to collect data about gendered violence. This leaves the state unable to recognize patterns and address the underlying issues. For example, in Paraguay, even if a medida de protección is granted, the women has to be the one to inform the person, which is what precipitated the events of Lucia’s husband’s death.

The Human Rights Commission at the United Nations recommended that Paraguay take steps to address these shortcomings. In May 2013, the multilateral body called on the state to approve a law that would prevent, punish, and eradicate gender violence, as well as assure that complains of domestic violence are effectively investigated, with perpetrators being punished appropriately and the survivors receiving attention and compensation.

The decision to finally let Lucia out of prison and absolve her guilt was a step in the right direction to begin to comply with the latter recommendation.

Lucia’s case, while a big step forward and giving precedence for survivors who seek to protect themselves, also revealed fundamental flaws within the Paraguayan legal system. Many activists who worked on Sandoval’s case noted that the institutions that were supposed to protect women in these situations often re-traumatized them through harsh and slow procedures to evaluate their cases. A more comprehensive approach to meet the United Nations’ recommendations has also not been realized.

Moving forward, Amnesty International Paraguay hopes that similar cases will move quicker to protect women from being subjected to harsh prison terms while trials are being conducted. These cases need to take into account fundamental information about the gendered nature of these cases, particularly the violence that was suffered before the incident occurred.

Paraguay also needs to move to address a more holistic set of measures to address domestic violence in the country, a problem which remains prevalent throughout many South American nations.

This month we celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8 and the kick-off of the 59th UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). Both of these events happen every year. But this year is special.

2015 marks the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the landmark framework on women’s health and rights. This is where our rallying cry, “women’s rights are human rights,” originated (though the concept has been around a lot longer than 20 years!). It’s also the basis of our My Body My Rights campaign, which seeks to accelerate progress on comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights, issues that still have a long way to go.

Because this year’s CSW focuses on such a monumental anniversary, and requires the world’s governments to honestly assess how far we’ve come in protecting and promoting women’s rights everywhere, a new Declaration will be issued by the CSW this year, one that will represent the highest levels of political will and that will inform the next phase of global health and human rights efforts for women and girls.

This may seem just another political—and politicized—statement, but this year there may be more to it. That’s because in 2015 the world’s governments will also agree an entirely new consensus framework for addressing global poverty, health and development, and environmental sustainability. Known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the new framework will replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as the world’s guidepost for the next 15 years.

While governments have only just begun to negotiate the final content of the SDGs, years’ worth of work has already taken place to provide a starting point for these negotiations. From an online consultation to identify the issues global citizens find most important, to a range of General Assembly debates, from hundreds of proposals from civil society, to a draft framework produced by a high-level panel of eminent persons and experts appointed by the UN Secretary-General, we have lots to go on.The CSW Declaration will be another piece of this puzzle, shaping reactions to the proposals on the table and giving a preview of where the priorities may fall.

Among the Sustainable Development Goals currently under consideration is one on gender equality and empowerment of women and girls.

That’s why we will be advocating for a comprehensive and ambitious agenda for this year’s CSW Declaration and subsequently for the SDGs. From women’s participation in peace-making processes to ending gender-related discrimination, from comprehensive sexual and reproductive health rights and security for women’s human rights defenders, to state protection from gender-based violence, our agenda is at the core of what will be required to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment by 2030.

It sounds daunting because it is. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy.

And that’s why we need you. This year all of our governments will agree to a new vision for the world in 2030, beginning this week with the CSW. It’s our job to tell them what we want that world to look like.

In honor of International Women’s Day, the My Body My Rights Campaign has launched a Manifesto. By signing it, you’ll help demonstrate to world leaders how important sexual and reproductive health really is, that it underpins the rights to education, non-discrimination, and so many more, and that it cannot be lost to politics during the CSW or the final SDG negotiations.

This isn’t just another International Women’s Day or another Commission on the Status of Women. This September’s UN General Assembly won’t be just another gathering of the world’s leaders. On January 1, 2016, we will begin a new 15-year journey, one that we hope will result in an end to discrimination, violence and inequalities, better opportunities, more choices, better health, and more justice for all people, in every country of the world.

Will you join us to kick off this momentous year by raising your voice for sexual and reproductive health?

Violence devastates the lives of millions of women and girls worldwide every year (Photo Credit: Mahmud Khaled/AFP/Getty Images)

There’s little doubt that you’ve repeatedly heard about the incessant global epidemic of violence against women and girls; I am certain you’ve seen one too many horrific headlines highlighting unthinkable instances of gender-based violence around the world.

Like me, you’re also undoubtedly distressed by the violence and simultaneously weary of the struggle to end it. It is overwhelming and daunting to grasp how we can work to effectively end this widespread human rights abuse.

But we cannot give up on our efforts. With every day that passes, violence continues to devastate the lives of countless more women and girls in every part of the world. We must continue to push for a solution.

As Amnesty activists, you’ve certainly heard about the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA). Amnesty has been at the forefront of efforts to push this important bill since its inception several years ago. I can understand that you might be tired of advocating for IVAWA, but there is a reason why we keep pushing this bill and asking for your help in doing so: we know that IVAWA is an important part of the solution to ending violence against women and girls around the world. We just need Members of Congress to get the message.

As we observed International Women’s Day yesterday, a dedicated group of bipartisan lawmakers in the House of Representatives reintroduced IVAWA into the new session of Congress, with reintroduction in the Senate planned for this week. IVAWA will improve existing U.S. efforts to address gender-based violence by ensuring the U.S. has a comprehensive diplomatic and foreign assistance strategy to help secure the safety and rights of women and girls across the world.

IVAWA’s introduction couldn’t have come soon enough. The U.S. government currently has a strategy in place like the one IVAWA is calling for, however it is set to expire this summer. This could mean a disastrous end to a critical mechanism that has been the lifeline for numerous women and girls around the world… unless Congress acts.

Your lawmakers need to know just how important and timely IVAWA is. Will you take action with me on IVAWA to keep the clock from running out on these crucial anti-violence efforts?

In reflecting on International Women’s Day, I wish more than anything that violence against women and girls didn’t affect one out of every three women worldwide, crossing all borders and cultures, impacting the ability of women and girls to access the full spectrum of their human rights. And I really wish Congress would help us do something about it.

We cannot let the clock run out on the critical initiatives in place to end the global scourge of violence against women. It is more important than ever before to pass IVAWA and ensure continued progress on ending this human rights abuse around the world.

Each year on International Women’s Day, the world celebrates the acts of courage and determination of women worldwide. It’s a global celebration of the accomplishments, legacy, and rights of women.

What International Women’s Day also highlights, however, is the continued struggle for women’s rights. And no one knows that better than women’s rights defenders like Bahareh Hedayat of Iran and Norma Cruz of Guatemala.

For these women and women like them, every day is women’s day: every day, women are putting their safety and freedom on the line to defend and promote women’s rights in their communities. And for many women, instead of being applauded by officials, they’re targeted, threatened, even imprisoned.

Take Norma Cruz of Guatemala, who leads Fundación Sobrevivientes (Survivors’ Foundation). Norma and her team provide a wide range of services to women who suffer acts of violence. They run a crisis shelter for women, adolescents, and children. Over the course of 2009, for example, they sheltered around 110 people. They also offer legal support for those who take action through the courts to bring those responsible to justice.

Norma also campaigns for justice with the relatives of murdered women. Guatemala has seen a notable increase in the number of women killed over the last decade and the state has largely failed to investigate these crimes.

Despite the constant threat to her life and safety, Norma continues to be a women’s rights champion—even as she knows that working for women’s rights means putting herself on the line.

Bahareh Hedayat was arrested on 31 December 2009, shortly after mass arrests following anti-government protests on the religious festival of Ashoura. She was charged with several “offenses”, including “interviews with foreign media,” “insulting the leader,” “insulting the president,” and “disrupting public order through participating in illegal gatherings.”

In May 2010 she was sentenced to six months in prison for “insulting the president”, two years for “insulting the Leader” and five years for “acting against national security.” A two year suspended prison term previously imposed for her participation in the June 2006 demonstration calling for an end to discrimination against women in law was also implemented. An additional six month sentence was added as punishment for having written a letter, together with fellow imprisoned student activist Majid Tavakkoli, in December 2010, encouraging students to continue their peaceful struggle for freedom. Around the beginning of November 2011 Branch 54 of the Tehran Appeals Court upheld the additional six months sentence on the charge of “propaganda against the system.”

By taking a stand for women’s rights and the rights of all Iranians, Bahareh paid with her freedom.

Women like Norma and Bahareh are women’s rights champions and embody the spirit—and struggle—of International Women’s Day.

One Billion Rising event in New Delhi on February 14, 2014. The One Billion Rising campaign is a global call for an end to violence against women and girls and that survivors should receive justice. PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images

This Valentine’s Day, show your love for humanity and demand change for women and girls: join Amnesty International and V-Day, a global movement dedicated to ending gender-based violence, for the annual One Billion Rising Revolution campaign to end violence against women and girls. In a world populated with over 7 billion people, one in three women will be physically, sexually, or otherwise abused during her lifetime: that’s a staggering one billion women and girls who have experienced violence.

Through a combination of arts and activism, we seek to rise, release, and dance in solidarity to show our local communities and the world what one billion looks like and highlight the experiences of survivors who are often denied justice.

Yet, ending violence against women and girls should not be limited to an annual event. In the United States, the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) would make ending violence against women and girls a top U.S. diplomatic and foreign assistance priority by permanently integrating gender-based violence prevention and response efforts into all U.S. government programs that operate overseas. Make your voice heard and demand your Members of Congress co-sponsor IVAWA when it is reintroduced in the coming weeks, helping to ensure that women and girls around the world can live lives free from violence.

Gender-based violence is a global epidemic that knows no national or cultural barriers and affects millions of women and girls in peacetime and in conflict. Consider the below two examples:

NIGERIA: Chibok Girls

Protest Against Abduction Of Nigerian Schoolgirls In Wellington, NZ

On April 14, 2014, hundreds of school girls, most between the ages of 15 and 18, were abducted from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok in north-eastern Nigeria by the armed group Boko Haram. More than ten months later, it appears that little if any progress has been made to secure the release of the kidnapped girls. Take action to #BringBackOurGirls and demand accountability.

EGYPT: Violence Against Women and Girls

Amnesty International Protest Against Violence In Egypt

In a 2013 United Nations Women survey, more than 99 percent of women and girls interviewed in Egypt reported that they experienced some form of sexual harassment. Amnesty International’s report released on January 22, 2015 documents how women and girls face violence on a disturbing scale both at home and in public, including domestic violence, sexual mob attacks, and torture in state custody. Egyptian laws and entrenched impunity continue to foster a culture of routine sexual and gender-based violence. Spread the word: Share Amnesty’s new report widely!

This February, send a Valentine to the world and demand change for women and girls: join us for the One Billion Rising Revolution and take action to end violence against women. We must rise together in solidarity to show the world we are ready to break the cycle of violence now!

Fortunately, the issue was brought up for another vote on Wednesday, January 21. On Tuesday, Amnesty called upon activists around the world to take part in a very urgent action on behalf of Guadalupe by sending Twitter and Facebook messages to individual Salvadoran Assembly Deputies and the parties they represent. The Assembly approved Guadalupe’s pardon by a single vote.

Please sign Amnesty’s petition calling upon the Salvadoran government to decriminalize abortion and release all of the women who are in prison for abortions or miscarriages!

]]>http://blog.amnestyusa.org/americas/one-vote-made-the-difference-for-guadalupe/feed/3How Did the State of the Union Stack Up On Human Rights?http://blog.amnestyusa.org/americas/how-did-the-state-of-the-union-stack-up-on-human-rights/
http://blog.amnestyusa.org/americas/how-did-the-state-of-the-union-stack-up-on-human-rights/#commentsWed, 21 Jan 2015 03:56:59 +0000http://blog.amnestyusa.org/?p=57256Please continue reading.]]>

During tonight’s State of the Union address, President Obama touched on issues of national security, criminal justice reform, immigration policy and women’s health, all of which involve human rights.

It is important to promote awareness of these issues as part of the US national conversation. But as always, the proof is in the pudding. So how do President Obama’s words stack up against actions?

Torture. The release of the Senate torture report’s summary makes it clear the U.S. government used torture. Unless those responsible are held accountable, the door to future abuses will remain open. President Obama needs to do much more than just denounce torture, as he did this evening in his address. He must use the power of his office to ensure accountability for torture, enforced disappearances, and other human rights violations detailed in the report. He should also support legislation to prevent these abuses from occurring ever again.

Guantanamo. Tonight the president said that he would not relent in his determination to shut down the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay. Indeed, the Obama administration has finally begun to accelerate its efforts to transfer detainees out of Guantanamo. The president must not yield to congressional pressure to keep the prison open indefinitely. All detainees still held there must be fairly tried or released. For thirteen years, the detention center at Guantanamo has been a stain on the United States’ human rights record. We agree with the resident that it is time to close it —no excuses, no delays.

Threat of Terrorism. Like the president, we are all horrified by the shocking brutality of attacks such as those in Paris, as well as those that he didn’t mention, such as the catastrophic destruction in northern Nigeria. If the U.S. is to be a true leader in human rights, it must condemn these actions without giving in to the politics of fear that led to reactionary abuses like indefinite detention at Guantanamo and torture. The president claims that he has not moved on from the debates over the surveillance program, and will endeavor to keep the country safe while protecting privacy. But too many in his administration are failing to rein in an NSA program empowered to keep millions of people around the world under surveillance. The president must resist calls to escalate religious and racial profiling, unnecessary mass surveillance, and intrusive intelligence and police practices that undermine the freedoms they are meant to protect.

Immigration. The president has demonstrated laudable leadership through his executive actions that provide sensible relief from deportation for as many as 5 million undocumented immigrants who are currently in the United States. But he must also ensure that systemic abuses such as arbitrary detention, violations of due process and abuses in detention are addressed at their core. Congress, with the president’s full support, must pass meaningful immigration reform that will end these human rights violations once and for all.

Race and Policing. The police-related deaths this year of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice and others emphasize the critical need for a national review on the use of force by police. We are glad that the president also sees this as a moment for criminal justice reform, and we welcomed the president’s creation of a federal task force on policing in the 21st century. But we hope that this is just the beginning of comprehensive reforms and accountability that will ensure that all law enforcement officers can be trusted, rather than feared, by the people they are sworn to protect.

Women’s Rights. We agree that women should have access to the health care they need and which is their human right. Which is why we call on the president to help protect women who are disproportionately at risk of abuses within the U.S., including Indigenous women who face an increased risk of sexual assault. Indian Health Services must implement long-overdue protocols to ensure that Indigenous women receive the health care and reproductive health services to which they are entitled.

What did you think of President Obama’s State of the Union address? Share your thoughts with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr using the hashtag #SOTURights.

President Obama, , joined by Vice Chairwoman of the Tulalip Tribes of Washington State Deborah Parker, trafficking survivor Tysheena Rhames, Police Chief James Johnson of Baltimore County in Maryland, and Executive Director of New York City Anti-Violence Project Police Department Sharon Stapel, and members of Congress and his adminstration, signs the Violence Against Women Act into law March 7, 2013. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Women across the world—including here in the U.S.—experience horrific levels of violence. 1 of 3 women globally will be raped, beaten, or otherwise abused in their lifetime, and you, Mr. President, can help end this epidemic.

Improving the US response to sexual violence in Indigenous communities

Consider Native American and Alaska Native women, who are 2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than non-Native women in the USA. The extreme levels of sexual violence against Indigenous women make it critical that Indian Health Services implements standardized, written sexual assault protocols. These protocols are needed to ensure the timely collection of forensic evidence which is crucial for a successful prosecution, and which also ensure that Native American and Alaska Native women have access to the health care services they need, including unrestricted access to emergency contraception.

While the Tribal Law and Order Act, which you, Mr. President, signed into law in 2010, required Indian Health Services to develop standardized sexual assault policies and protocols for the facilities of the Service, they are not mandatory and implementation remains a problem. As a result, treatment of sexual assault survivors has been inconsistent and results in violations of human rights under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, as well as other international standards. We call on you to ensure that Indian Health Services adopts and enforces standardized sexual assault protocols that include full and equal access to emergency contraception.

Recommitting to the US Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally

Just as the extreme levels of violence against Indigenous women in the USA demands a response, so to does the scourge of violence against women and girls globally. Violence against women is human rights violation, a public health epidemic and a barrier to solving shared global challenges such as poverty, disease, and conflict.

Mr. President, you recognized how important it is for the US government to take a stand against this human rights scandal when you promulgated the US Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Globally in August 2012, which seeks to integrate and utilize ongoing foreign assistance efforts aimed at preventing violence from happening in the first place and ensuring proper support for survivors when it does.

Consider survivors such as the Yezidi women and girls in Iraq who are facing harrowing violence at the hands of the armed group calling itself the Islamic State, including torture, rape, other forms of sexual violence and forced marriage. The US GBV Strategy is meant to help ensure access to the kinds of lifesaving services so essential to the Yezidi survivors of sexual violence. But the Strategy is set to expire in August. What will happen to such critical efforts when it does? To the women and girls who need the support the most?

In the coming weeks, IVAWA will be reintroduced in the 114th Congress, and while Amnesty activists will do our part to push for its passage, we need you to do your part, Mr. President. We need you to support the passage of IVAWA and commit to renewing the US Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally before it expires this summer.

Will you be a leader for women and girls in your State of the Union address?

Women during a march to commemorate UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. (Photo: ERIKA SANTELICES/AFP/Getty Images)

Until now, the Dominican Republic was one of the few nations with a complete ban on abortion. The law did not allow exceptions for the health and safety of the woman; rape or incest; or severe fetal abnormality. That changed on December 19, when President Danilo Medina put into effect a new Criminal Code that allows abortions under the above-mentioned circumstances.

This is an important victory for the Dominican women’s human rights groups’ network, Collectiva Mujer y Salud, as well as the many international activists who put pressure on the Dominican government to make these changes. Thank you to everyone who took action!

Unfortunately, similar change has not yet happened in El Salvador. Abortion remains illegal under all circumstances. Women like Beatriz are forced to continue pregnancies that threaten their health and even their lives. In the case of Beatriz, it did not even matter that the fetus she was carrying was unlikely to survive outside of the womb. Rape and incest survivors as young as nine are further traumatized as they are forced to carry the resulting pregnancies to term. Poor women who suffer miscarriages risk spending decades in jail when they seek help from public hospitals.

As in the Dominican Republic, there are Salvadorans working to change this law—the Citizen Group for the Decriminalization Abortion. Please add your voices to theirs by signing Amnesty International’s petition urging Salvadoran President Salvador Sánchez Cerén to

decriminalize abortion in all circumstances so as to eliminate jail time and other punitive measures for women and girls seeking abortion, as well as for health care providers performing abortion services, where consent is fully given

ensure accessto abortion, at the least, in cases of rape or incest, where the woman’s health or life is at risk, and where the fetus is unlikely to survive

release all women and girls who are imprisoned for abortions or miscarriages

On December 24, the first ever international Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) regulating the sale of conventional arms and ammunition will go into effect. The treaty will require that before authorizing a sale of arms and ammunition across international borders, governments must assess the risk that the weapons will be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian or human rights law, undermine peace and security, or engage in transnational organized crime. If an exporting country knows there is an “overriding” risk that the arms will be used for these purposes, the sale is prohibited.

In another break-through, the ATT is also the first legally binding international agreement that makes the connection between the international arms trade and gender-based violence (GBV). Only recently has the gendered aspect of armed violence been recognized. During the drafting of the treaty, Amnesty International joined with the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), the Women’s Network of the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA), and Oxfam to enlist the support of both governments and civil society for inclusion of a gender dimension in the treaty. As a result of these efforts, Article 7(4) of the ATT makes it mandatory for arms exporting countries to assess the risk that their weapons will be used in the commission of GBV and deny authorization of any sales that present an “overriding” risk.

Gender-based violence affects everyone – men, women, boys and girls – but in different ways. Both men and women can, and do, misuse guns to commit violence, but most GBV is perpetrated by men against women and girls. Men and boys suffer high rates of death and injury as a result of gun violence, but the statistics do not reflect the disproportionate effects of gun violence on women. Guns can be used not only to maim and kill, but also to threaten and intimidate. Possession of firearms changes the balance of power in a relationship and emboldens both individuals and members of armed groups to use weapons to instill fear and exert control. Guns can be used to impose rape as a weapon of war, to coerce women into sexual slavery, or to perpetrate other forms of sexual violence. Even after the end of hostilities in armed conflict, the weapons left behind can be used to commit gun-related femicide and domestic violence.

The low status of women in all societies and discrimination against them condones and perpetuates such violence. When governments and societies prioritize investment in weapons and military might at the expense of investment in education, health care and economic security, the human rights of women are in jeopardy. Even during times of peace, if economic resources and policy priorities are directed into spending for arms, defense programs and the military instead of reducing social and economic inequalities, women and girls, who are already disadvantaged, face a different kind of violence through loss of their opportunities to access education, decent housing and food for their families, high quality health care, and political participation to improve their lives.

Enactment of an ATT that includes the degree to which women are at risk of violence among the criteria for denial of an international arms transfer is an important step toward protection of their human rights. However, much more needs to be done. Terms such as “overriding” are open to interpretation. Inadequate coverage of ammunition, parts and components, as well as more up-to-date weapons, needs to be addressed. The treaty is legally binding only on those 53 governments that have so far ratified it. If those countries do, indeed, honor the provisions of the treaty in their arms transfers, the risk that arms and ammunition will be used to commit serious violations of human rights or fall into irresponsible hands will be significantly reduced. The consistent application of the treaty’s provisions will also set a new global standard for international arms trade.

As members of civil society, we must hold those countries that have already ratified the ATT to their commitments and encourage more governments to ratify as well. Militarism and armed violence are threats to all of us. Supporting a strong interpretation of the ATT in solidarity with women and men around the world will make this treaty an effective tool to challenge militarism and armed violence.